Cemetery worker fled hotel leaving £741 unpaid bill

Daniel Duke, 24, of College Road, moved into the Avondale Hotel, Avondale Road, when he split up with his girlfriend and she threw him out of the home they shared.

From April 30-June 10 last year he stayed at the hotel at cost of 19 per night, Lewes Magistrates Court heard on Tuesday.

Duke pleaded guilty to the charge of making off without payment.

Stewart Wright, prosecuting, told the court how Duke, who was carrying out casual manual work at the time, told the hotel he was awaiting a cheque which he would use to settle his bill.

But Duke fled without paying or even leaving a note. Mr Wright said: 'The proprietor discovered the hotel room was vacant and the defendant's possessions were no longer in that room and reported the matter to the police.'

Tony Waller, defending, said Duke admitted it was wrong to leave without paying and had initially intended to pay up.

'He always maintained that when he first took up residence he had every intention to pay,' he said.

However, when he broke up with his girlfriend he had been forced to leave the house she owned and found himself homeless.

When a rented flat became unexpectedly available he used the wages he was owed for a deposit instead of the hotel bill and crept away unnoticed.

Mr Waller said his client knew what he did was wrong and was now trying to get his life in order.

He was reconciled with his girlfriend, had a new job at the cemetery and hoped to be accepted to join the Army as a military policeman.

Magistrates fined Duke 125 and ordered him to pay 175 costs and the 741 hotel bill.